North Ridgeville Superintendent James Powell and district spokeswoman Amy Rutledge examine a proposed layout of the new combined middle and elementary school approved by voters last week.Michael Sangiacomo

NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio – By a mere 418 votes, voters approved the $58 million construction of a new school to replace the outdated North Ridgeville Middle School and the Wilcox Elementary School.

Superintendent James Powell felt like he held his breath all of election night Nov. 5 until the final precinct reported in.

Election night did not start out well. Powell and about 30 supporters gathered in a local restaurant and watched the results.

The first were absentee ballots, which showed the bond issue losing by about 100 votes.

“I was a little nervous right then,” said Amy Rutledge, school district spokeswoman. “But when the votes from the districts started coming in, we got the lead and held it all night."

Everyone grew more confident as the night wore on and the number of voters in favor of the measure kept increasing with every return.

“Early on I realized that we might actually win,” Powell said. “I had an anxiety attack. I got all sweaty and had to go outside and cool off. Once I realized that we could, probably would, win, I started to think about all the work that it will take.”

A wind-wrinkled sign outside the North Ridgeville Middle School thanks residents for passing the bond issue to demolish the school and build a new one.Michael Sangiacomo

If Powell was a bit nervous about supervising a $58 million construction project it is understandable. After all, the school district has not built anything since an addition to the high school in 1992 and is a bit rusty.

But the district has a plan in place.

Powell has had a lot more time to think about all that work, since the measure passed by a vote of 4,311 (52.9 percent) to 3,839 (47.1 per cent).

Powell is relieved that voters heard the message that the two schools, in particular the middle school, were in dire need of demolition.
He summed it up succinctly by reminding people that the middle school had flooded five times since June, leaving up to a foot of sewage-contaminated water in the cafeteria.

The idea of their children eating in a cafeteria where sewage had been floating was enough to convince people that the 90-year-old building needs to be replaced. Wilcox Elementary was built in 1958 and has problems with leaky windows, an inefficient heating system and an old boiler.

The taxpayers agreed to pay $174 a year in increased taxes on a home valued at $100,000 to replace both buildings with a new one near the high school.

Powell spent the day after Election Day huddled with staff and the Ohio School Facilities Commission, the state organization that oversees construction projects in which state money is being used. Ohio will contribute about $8.9 million to the project.

He said this week the district will put out requests for architects and construction managers for the project, noting that the architect will be selected first.

“We hope to have the selections made by January,” he said. “Then we will have committees working on the kinds of things they want to see in the new building, right down to colors and type of brick used. Teachers will be involved in planning what the building will look like.”

He wants to use as many local businesses and subcontractors as possible in the construction of the schools, a way of giving back to the community for its support.

Even before work begins on the new building, which will be built on the 96-acre site owned by the district on Bainbridge Road, the new Rangers football stadium will be built.

“The stadium is being built by the district to replace the one on the Middle School property,” Powell said. “It’s a pretty simple structure, which we’ll start on in the spring.”

If things go as planned, groundbreaking on the new building could begin in October.

Once the new school is built, the old schools will be demolished.

Powell said the new building should be done by August, 2016, the beginning of the school year.

“It will all be worth it that first day when I get to see the faces of the students walking through those doors for the first time,” he said.

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.